Post what you used in your first car.

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First ride: 1960 Ford Sunliner convertible. I think it has a 352 V8. I used Pennzoil Wax bottle 30w.

from the Sunliner site:

Although fit-and-finish was pretty awful even for 1960, engineering improvements abounded. Oil change intervals were extended to 6,000 miles and chassis lubrication to 30,000 miles in an era when many cars required oil changes at 1,500 and lube jobs at the same time.

Power for the cars came from a base inline 6, but most buyers opted for the 352 cubic-inch V8 that produced 235 horsepower with a 2-barrel and 300 horsepower with a 4-barrel. There was an optional high-performance, 360 horsepower 352 that very few people bought, but it was a very strong engine that could reach 0-60 times of 7.1 seconds.


The 1960 Ford Just Never Caught On
Convertibles notwithstanding, the 1960 Fords didn't catch on then and still don't today. Their values are quite modest when compared with contemporary Fords and other makes, and even the Sunliners in fully-restored condition only sell at the $20,000 level.

Why isn't it more popular? Perhaps it was the styling, although everything in that era tried to look like airplanes or space ships. Perhaps it was the Falcon, which was the big splash introduction of 1960. Perhaps the competitors (Chevy, Pontiac, Olds, etc.) were just better looking, but who knows?

We think it was the taillights.
 
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With my first car, an 86 Olds Cutlass Supreme coupe, I never got around to changing the oil. I maybe checked it once. I changed the air filter. As a matter of fact I never once checked the tranny fluid and I didn't even know differential fluid existed and needed to be changed.

I did my first oil change with my second car 1995 Monte Carlo, with Mobil 1 5w30 and a K&N oil filter.
 
My mechanic put "whatever" 10w30 or 10w40 in my 89 mazda 323. I blew a starter in the cold, then insisted on M1 5w30 in winter.

My first DIY change I used Tech2000 from Walmart (before y2k they called it this in the states too) and a STP/champ labs filter from there as well. I found the "minimopar/Knize filter cutapart study" from pre-BITOG days, they said the STP was fine.

Started buying superflo for $.59 or .69/qt A/R from (now-defunct) Ames on the theory that oil was oil. API SL was just coming out then. Wally's dropped my STPs and took a few months to come out with the (yuck) fram-numbered Supertechs... the first of those came in purple boxes. This was around 2001.
 
1984 Honda Prelude.

Conventional Mobil 10-30 (Blue bottle), with Napa Silver filters.

Good little car, 35mpg and sold it w/175,000 mi.
 
My first "car" was a 1987 Toyota 4x2. My dad bought it for me from a customer for $50.00 in 1999 w/ 78k. (He was an MDT at the Toyota dealer, and still is.) At the time it had an awful rod knock. He had another crank, and we bought new bearings for it.
I drove it for about a year, then started going to a private school far away and drove mom's 89 Corolla to save money. At the time I didn't know how to change my oil, so both got bulk Valvoline dino 10w30, and Toyota OEM filters from the dealer when dad changed the oil. My next car was another '89 Corolla (this one was a stick, hence the sale of the truck to buy it.) It got a steady diet of Valvoline 10w30 dino, and Later Castrol GTX 10w30. 'cause that's what dad used in the GTO, and his Ninja.
Though he used the 20w50 variety, and still does.
 
My first car was a 1972 ford econoliine cargo van with no passenger seat. I guess it had 75,000 miles on it. I put a matress in the back and was a' rockin'. I didn't know you were supposed to change the oil. I'd check the oil every 3 or 4 months. I would dump in a qt of straight 40w or 30w if it needed it. whatever was on the stand at the gas station.

My friend went to tech school and asked how I changed my oil and I said, What? Anyway, he and I did the first oil change the oil was like pudding when we ran it right out in the dirt behind the barn... Dear Jesus, I'm sorry...
 
It was back in the 1960's, and I believe the first oil I used was Quaker State Deluxe.

I have a question. I seem to recall that Deluxe only came in 10w40. Does anybody know if that is correct or do I have mixed-up recollections rattlin' around in my brain?
 
Originally Posted By: uplandr
It was back in the 1960's, and I believe the first oil I used was Quaker State Deluxe.

I have a question. I seem to recall that Deluxe only came in 10w40. Does anybody know if that is correct or do I have mixed-up recollections rattlin' around in my brain?


I used QS in the mid 60s but can't remember the wt. All I remember is the sludge.
 
My first car was a 1970 Ford LTD with a 390 V8 I ran Havoline 10w-40 with a fram PH8A filter. The Havoline was the cheapest oil at Kmart and I thought the Fram was a good filter.
 
Mt first car was a 86 Buick Skyhawk Turbo Coupe. It had a 1.8l 4cyl Turbo. It was a rust prone parts buster. I used 10w30 Castrol GTX in it with a Carquest filter.

My first car that I bought was my 70 Nova. It had a stout 327 in it and I ran 20w50 Valvoline VR1 in it with AC Delco filters. I did not drive it in the winter.
 
1992 Pontiac Sunbird with the 2.0l I4 engine. The car mainly saw Castrol dino or Valvoline conventional with a Fram orange can of death.
 
I had a 1980 Toyota long bed SR5 with a 20R 4 cyl. I used 10w40 Castrol GTX because it was for "high-revving imports" according to the ads and Toyota filters because they had "a valve in them that maintains oil flow to the timing chain", according to my dad.

My next was a new 1988 Silverado 5.0 V8 5 sp. manual that even saw the occasional Slick 50 treatment. The engine called for 10w30, and at first I was uncomfortable using that 'thin' oil, after using 10w40 for so long. I really have come a long way.

My dad changed from Havoline to Quaker State because when the oil burned off of the exhaust mainfold due to valve cover leaks, QS didn't smell as bad as Havoline. I gradually realized that he might not be my best source for maintenance suggestions.
 
Originally Posted By: TLAR640
I had a 1980 Toyota long bed SR5 with a 20R 4 cyl. I used 10w40 Castrol GTX because it was for "high-revving imports" according to the ads and Toyota filters because they had "a valve in them that maintains oil flow to the timing chain", according to my dad.

My next was a new 1988 Silverado 5.0 V8 5 sp. manual that even saw the occasional Slick 50 treatment. The engine called for 10w30, and at first I was uncomfortable using that 'thin' oil, after using 10w40 for so long. I really have come a long way.

My dad changed from Havoline to Quaker State because when the oil burned off of the exhaust mainfold due to valve cover leaks, QS didn't smell as bad as Havoline. I gradually realized that he might not be my best source for maintenance suggestions.


I remember my dad using nothing but toyota filters in his 84 22r motor, he said the same thing "If i dont use toyota filters they will get no oil on startup. These toyota ones are fancy and have valves that hold the oil in them."
 
Originally Posted By: defektes
I remember my dad using nothing but toyota filters in his 84 22r motor, he said the same thing "If i dont use toyota filters they will get no oil on startup. These toyota ones are fancy and have valves that hold the oil in them."


Heh. My mechanic said the same thing.

While there may be some oil filters without anti-drainback valves, I haven't heard of any spin-on ones sold without such valves, it seems like the element-only ones (like for my fiancee's 2010 RAV4) don't have such a valve. I'd imagine there's a valve in the engine oil system that accomplishes the same thing. As an aside, why they don't use spin-ons on the RAV boggles my mind.

Even the $2.50 SuperTech filters have anti-drainback valves....
 
Originally Posted By: heypete
Originally Posted By: defektes
I remember my dad using nothing but toyota filters in his 84 22r motor, he said the same thing "If i dont use toyota filters they will get no oil on startup. These toyota ones are fancy and have valves that hold the oil in them."


Heh. My mechanic said the same thing.

While there may be some oil filters without anti-drainback valves, I haven't heard of any spin-on ones sold without such valves, it seems like the element-only ones (like for my fiancee's 2010 RAV4) don't have such a valve. I'd imagine there's a valve in the engine oil system that accomplishes the same thing. As an aside, why they don't use spin-ons on the RAV boggles my mind.

Even the $2.50 SuperTech filters have anti-drainback valves....


Maybee not every filter back then had them? Not sure.
 
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